Manila to move deadline for mining fund goals
MANILA, Philippines - Delay in the implementation of big-ticket mining projects has prompted the Philippines to postpone meeting its investment targets.
Instead of planning to attract some $10 billion worth of investments by 2010, Manila has given itself another two years to meet its fund goals, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) said.
This was due to the postponement of big-ticket projects such as Oceana Gold’s Didipio project in Nueva Vizcaya and the Pujada project of BHP Billiton in Davao Oriental.
“We expect to be declared a mining country by 2010. I guess that would have to wait, at least until these mining firm get their acts together,” Ramos told reporters while at the sidelines of the 9th ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Minerals (ASOMM).
Despite the delay, the government remains optimistic of attracting investments from companies such as Atlas Mining Corp., Filminera Corp., Xtrata, Cagdianao Mining Corp. Hinatuan Mining Corp., and Coral Bay Nickel Corp.
“We’re monitoring at least 30 ongoing projects and 25 exploration projects that would contribute substantially to the projected investments for the year,” he said, adding that investments since 2004 have reached $1.8 billion as of June.
Earlier, the government said that its 63 identified priority projects are expected to contribute 6.5 percent of the global demand for minerals in 2011. By that year, the Philippines hopes to become a “mining country.” The World Bank defines a mining country if the sector’s exports hit six percent of the country’s total outbound shipments